1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the delivery of hot mix asphalt for road bed construction and more particularly to an assembly and method for cleaning out conveyors, elevators, hoppers and other parts of material transport vehicles or other implements and devices associated with the delivery of hot mix asphalt to paving machines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hot mix asphalt (HMA) is typically prepared off-site from a road bed undergoing construction or resurfacing, or other similar paving project. It is then transferred into a dump truck or other suitable conveyance before being delivered either directly into a paving machine, directly into to a material transport vehicle, or placed onto the road bed as a windrow ahead of, and to be advanced upon, by a material transport vehicle. Material transport vehicles are known in the art, as are methods for cleaning out the same. Not surprisingly, unused, old or dried material will inhibit the ability of the material transport vehicle and related equipment to effectively deliver HMA to a paving machine and such material must be removed, preferably while still warm. Material transport vehicles also need to be cleaned out in order to facilitate routine maintenance as well as repair. Such methods include utilizing scrapers or brushes, both of which are prone to fatigue and failure. Furthermore, accessing the interior of the vehicle while the HMA is hot, though necessary for easy material removal, is potentially quite hazardous for operators. Previous access panels were either small, difficult to release, or otherwise exposed operators to excessive risk.
It is a first object of the present invention to create a cleanout assembly that permits the convenient, safe, efficient and complete cleaning of material transport vehicles as compared to previous devices;
It is a further object of the present invention to create a cleanout assembly that is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to maintain and operate, and that can be retrofitted to existing material transport vehicles.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to create an improved method for cleaning unused, old or dried material such as HMA from a material transport vehicle.